Loading...
98th out of 100 books
—
155 voters
My rating:
add to my books
District and Circle
District and Circle inhabits the eerie new conditions of a menaced twenty-first century. In their haunted, almost visionary clarity, the poems assay the weight and worth of what has been held in the hand and in the memory. Scenes from a childhood spent far from the horrors of World War II are colored by a strongly contemporary sense that "Anything can happen," an...more
Paperback, 96 pages
Published
April 3rd 2007
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
412)
Critics describe Heaney's newest book of poetry as original, startling, authentic, even supernatural__and his strongest collection in two decades. Reminiscent of his earliest collections in its earth-and-labor-centered vision, this volume is all the wiser with hindsight. While displaying a similar sensitivity toward humans, the same lyricism (a subway strap is "a stubby black roof-wort"), and a familiar down-to-earth attitude, District and Circle also asks questions about our impact o
...more
These are somewhat difficult poems to read at first. They are not difficult because of encyclopedic obscure references, like, say, Pound, or because of solipsistic personal references like, say, John Ashbury, or because of meterless syntactic and semantic experimentation like so much contemporary poetry. The syntax is strictly gramatic, but constantly requires and rewards your full attention, like a stony path. There are many obscure, but always concrete and evocative words, drawn mostly form th...more
Twenty years ago, I could understand about twenty percent of Heaney's poems at least enough to feel as though I "got" them. That was enough to make him a favorite. Ten years ago, I guess I was up to about thirty percent. With this latest collection, I'm closer to getting half of them, a happy surprise. I don't know if it's due to Heaney aging or me; I should go back to his earlier work to find out.
Always, I find him most accessible when he sticks to Anglo-Saxon words, ...more
Always, I find him most accessible when he sticks to Anglo-Saxon words, ...more
Brian
added it
I came to Heaney primarily through the recommendations in my reading of Ted Hughes. He does not disappoint. Plain, hard-hitting lyricism, such as in:
"So deeper into it, crowd-swept, strap-hanging,/ My lofted arm a-swivel like a flail,/ My father's glazed face in my own waning/ And craning..."
"District and Circle", last section). And Hughes's sense of the natural, rural world, meshed with the internal, as in: "My heavy head. Bronze-buffed. Eat to the g...more
"So deeper into it, crowd-swept, strap-hanging,/ My lofted arm a-swivel like a flail,/ My father's glazed face in my own waning/ And craning..."
"District and Circle", last section). And Hughes's sense of the natural, rural world, meshed with the internal, as in: "My heavy head. Bronze-buffed. Eat to the g...more
While I expected to give this a hearty skim-through at the Borders closing sale, I wound up really enjoying this. Heaney's ability to craft textured verse on meaningful topics sets him apart from his contemporaries.
I pattini di Wordsworth
Stella alla finestra.
Raschiare d'ardesia.
Uccello o ramo?
O l’affilatura e la folata dell’acciaio sul placido ghiaccio?
Non i pattini senza stivaletti caduti
nella polvere di una bacheca,
gli attacchi svaniti,
ma il loro vorticare sul Windermere ghiacciato
mentre sfrecciava dalla presa della terra lungo una svolta
lasciandola segnata.
Gara di taglio
Da fuori tonfi d'ascia
come un battere d'onde
sul traghetto notturno:...more
Stella alla finestra.
Raschiare d'ardesia.
Uccello o ramo?
O l’affilatura e la folata dell’acciaio sul placido ghiaccio?
Non i pattini senza stivaletti caduti
nella polvere di una bacheca,
gli attacchi svaniti,
ma il loro vorticare sul Windermere ghiacciato
mentre sfrecciava dalla presa della terra lungo una svolta
lasciandola segnata.
Gara di taglio
Da fuori tonfi d'ascia
come un battere d'onde
sul traghetto notturno:...more
I think these recent poems of Heaney's are compelling, especially the way he makes the ordinary imbued with extraordinary features. But I quite prefer his earlier poems when the themes dealt more concretely with Irish mythology, history, and politics. Nevertheless, his sparse and crisp images are intriguing and beautiful.
view 2 comments
Even though I didn't understand much of these poems, I loved them still. The images are beautiful by themselves.
His poems are versatile. They get visualization out of the reader. Every line is special...
Dark, lucid poems about the land and the implications for those living on it.
Well, I mean. It's good. It's solid. Some of it feels a bit.. writer's exercize-y. But it's filled with the kind of lively word-play, and contrapuntal rhythms that really made him famous. For instance:
Sun on ice,
white floss
on reed and bush,
the bridge-iron cast
in an Advent silence
I drove across,
-- from Nonce Words
And there's lots of Ireland in it. It's hard not to at least like most of the poems. But then bits like Fiddlehead...more
Sun on ice,
white floss
on reed and bush,
the bridge-iron cast
in an Advent silence
I drove across,
-- from Nonce Words
And there's lots of Ireland in it. It's hard not to at least like most of the poems. But then bits like Fiddlehead...more
Heaney grapples with the clash of the urban and the rural, the ancient and the modern in this, his latest book of poetry. I wouldn't recommend this book to someone new to Heaney's work, as it is much less accessible than some of his earlier works, but after some time to reflect on this book and compare it to his others, I have to say that District and Circle is among my favorites.
If you're looking for a place to start with Heaney though, Death of a Naturalist is a much better place to...more
If you're looking for a place to start with Heaney though, Death of a Naturalist is a much better place to...more
Cecelia
added it
/
Interesting poems with a quaint take on the everyday. Borrowing from both his childhood during WWII and contemporary life, Heaney has a completely fresh and colloquial relationship with language here. Some of the poems get too tangled up in wordplay, but never fail to keep you intrigued.
Heaney, in his usual erudite, yet earthy and humble way has done it again. Another wonderful collection of poetry from the poet laureate. I especially enjoyed Anahorish 1944, a description of soldiers marching fro Normandy and The Blackbird of Glanmore which is reminiscent of Mid-Term Break.
Good.
What I enjoy about Heaney is the compound nouns. Here's some from this collection: spot-rooted, shock-fast, street-loud, herd-quiet, flicker-lit, hackle-spikes, sleet-gilt, boulder-milt, grey-gristed, and bog-dough.
What can I say about Seamus Heaney that has not already been said? I recommend reading this collection slowly and repeatedly for maximum effect . . . you'll see what I mean.
As always, this book contains the wonderful magic and earthiness of Heaney's poetry. He is a mster poet with warmth, depth, and wisdom.
long time since i read a book of poetry. a bit rusty, i confess. and not all engaged. those that did, did powerfully.
If you like the smell of potting soil, you might enjoy this book very much.
A few nice poems, but for the most part nothing that really grabbed my attention.
Every word in this volume has heft.
Overrated.
rec: sharon
Jessica
marked it as to-read
Booklist
added it
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Seamus Justin Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer from County Derry, Ireland. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past." He currently lives in Dublin.
More about Seamus Heaney...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
